Daffodil helps NeGD to maximize e-governance by unifying 2000+ government services on a single application: UMANG

Knowledge transfer and code audit

The project began with an extensive knowledge transfer from the existing software vendor. Daffodil Software meticulously audited the entire codebase to evaluate programming standards, security measures, and performance-related factors. This audit was critical in understanding the application’s current state and identifying areas for improvement.

AngularJS migration: Maximizing efficiency with reusable components

One of the pivotal recommendations was to migrate the front end of the application from Java to AngularJS. This transition was embraced by the NeGD team due to Angular’s capability to create reusable components, which streamlined development processes and enhanced efficiency. Reusable components played a crucial role in integrating diverse services into the UMANG portal.

For instance, when a user accesses any department for e.g. ‘Delhi Transport Department’ through UMANG to pay toll tax or register a commercial vehicle, the dynamic-form-builder component generates the necessary form. This form, designed using reusable UI components and field components, captures the user’s data and is then sent to the respective department for processing. Once processed, the response is sent back to UMANG and displayed to the user. This streamlined process is replicated across various departments and services, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

Service integration and platform expansion

To maintain a consistent rollout of services, the team aimed to deliver at least 60 new services each quarter. This was achieved through a well-coordinated Agile approach, involving continuous collaboration with various departments, third-party auditors, and backend teams. With the flexibility provided by reusable components, the Daffodil team was able to integrate up to 100 new services efficiently, ensuring the portal’s scalability and adaptability.

The robustness of the system was also tested during peak usage times, such as when Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) results were released this year. During these periods, the system efficiently handled high user loads, with thousands of students accessing the portal simultaneously without any performance degradation. According to user activity data, the portal managed over 40,862 users per minute at peak times, reflecting its reliability. Moreover, the platform saw approximately 2 million users in a single day.

Security and monitoring

Maintaining the security of the application was a top priority. The Daffodil team implemented a system for constant monitoring to detect and mitigate vulnerabilities like injection flaws, cross-site scripting, and security misconfigurations. Additionally, a 24-hour server monitoring setup was established to identify front-end issues, aggregate errors, and ensure optimal performance. This vigilance included tracking JavaScript errors, network request failures, and user experience problems, ensuring the application remained robust and user-friendly.